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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26418094">Beep Happily</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/zavegonzo/pseuds/zavegonzo'>zavegonzo</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Random Ficlets [15]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>MOTHER: Cognitive Dissonance</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Fangame: Mother: Cognitive Dissonance, Ficlet, Gen, Larice is Fine with Being a Starman, Light Angst, Machines, Non-Consensual Body Modification, OK To Comment, Post-Canon, Robot Feels, Self-Acceptance, Short One Shot, Species Dysphoria</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 13:08:52</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>584</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26418094</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/zavegonzo/pseuds/zavegonzo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>None of the other Starmen could relate to him. They were completely different. The other rogue Starmen he’d met all lamented that they were made into robots, that their old bodies were irreversibly taken from them.</p><p>Larice couldn’t relate to them, either.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Random Ficlets [15]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1340926</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Beep Happily</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hey uhh just a quick headcanon: the Martian species were bipedal creatures that sort of looked like a mix between insects and reptiles, and also they had wings.<br/>Also, this fic takes place after the end of the game. I’m leaving it ambiguous as to which ending it follows. In this fic’s timeline, there’s a whole community of rogue Starmen who refuse to be used as soldiers.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>At first, he thought it was just residual programming. Even after he defeated his influence inhibitor, he still had a lot of old habits from his old “life.” He had managed to identify and get rid of most of them with the help of his friends, and they all thought for sure that this comfortability in his chassis was just another remnant of his programming.</p><p>His memory was spotty. Every rogue Starman he met was the same way. They all could only remember small snippets of their lives on Mars. Larice could remember things like where his old home was, the way the eyes of his loved ones shined under the light, the feeling of gliding, but he couldn’t remember his old job, family name, or even what age he had been when he was converted.</p><p>He missed being a Martian, he supposed. After all, he was made into a Starman against his consent. Such a transformation was a violation so deep, nothing could really rival it.</p><p>But, the thing was, even though he didn’t like the fact that he had been roboticized against his will, he didn’t actually <em>mind</em> his current form.</p><p>Later, he thought it was a weird coping mechanism. He had been traumatized. Sapient species created weird coping mechanisms and self-delusions in order to cope with trauma. It seemed to line up.</p><p>It seemed.</p><p>None of the other Starmen could relate to him. They were completely different. The other rogue Starmen he’d met all lamented that they were made into robots, that their old bodies were irreversibly taken from them.</p><p>Larice couldn’t relate to them, either.</p><p>He was confused. Why was everyone else so different from him? Why did they hate all of the parts of being a Starman that Larice either didn’t care about or liked? Why did they hate beeping, or not having to eat food, or the sterile elegance of their mechanical forms?</p><p>He only put two and two together when he remembered a certain memory. This memory was a bit unique in that it wasn’t just a small vignette of a feeling or a quote, but rather a whole scene.</p><p>It was sometime during his adolescence. He was looking at himself in a mirror, examining the wings that had recently come in. Unlike most Martians, who would be proud at this physical maturity, Larice just felt disgusted.</p><p>He averted his eyes, wrapping his arms around himself. He took a deep breath. Something felt <em>wrong.</em> He couldn’t place what it was. He just knew that there was some sort of problem with his body. His scales were gross. His blood was gross. His hearts were gross.</p><p>At the time, he had excused it as intense body issues caused by puberty. In hindsight, with knowledge he had gained from attending support groups and hearing what other Starmen felt about their own bodies, Larice couldn’t deny it any longer…</p><p>What he had felt was dysphoria.</p><p>And now, as a Starman, he didn’t feel it.</p><p>He liked being robotic. He liked having gears and wires inside his body. He was meant for this.</p><p>He was too afraid to admit it to his new friends. So, he confided in his old ones. Well, the two that were left, anyway.</p><p>Alinivar and the Colonel were both supportive. They reassured him that even if other Starmen didn’t like being robotic, that didn’t mean he had to be the same way. They’d be there for him, just like they always had been.</p><p>Larice beeped happily.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>It's been a billion years since I wrote for this fandom and I barely remember anything aaaa<br/>I thought the premise of "a robot feels dysphoric and wants to be organic" was waaay too overdone, so instead I wrote something with the premise of "an organic creature feels dysphoric and wants to be a robot"</p></blockquote></div></div>
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